Flavorful Grilled Chicken Kabobs

Total Time: 35 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 2 lbs boneless chicken breasts (trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch cubes) or 2 lbs skinless chicken thighs (trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch cubes)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• fresh ground black pepper (can sub chipotle powder)
• 2 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 8 wooden skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes before using
• 1 cup barbecue sauce, divided (sweet baby ray's hickory works well)

Recipe

• 1 toss chicken and salt in large bowl; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
• 2 heat gas grill to medium high.
• 3 while grill heats, pat chicken dry with paper towels. combine sweet paprika, sugar, smoked paprika and pepper or chipotle powder in small bowl.
• 4 process bacon in food processor until a smooth paste forms, 30 to 45 seconds, scraping down bowl twice during processing. add bacon paste and spice mixture to chicken; mixing with hands or rubber spatula until ingredients are thoroughly blended and chicken is completely coated.
• 5 thread meat onto skewers, rolling or folding meat as necessary to maintain 1-inch cubes.
• 6 place kebabs on grill, turning one-quarter turn every 2 to 2 1/2 minutes until well browned and slightly charred, about 8 minutes for breasts or 10 minutes for thighs. brush top surface of kebabs with 1/4 cup sauce; flip and cook until sauce is brown in spots, about 1 minute. brush second side with remaining 1/4 cup sauce; flip and continue to cook until brown in spots until cooked through, about 1 minute longer. remove kebabs from grill and let rest for 5 minutes.
• 7 serve, passing reserved barbecue sauce separately.